It ’s hard to neglect the testicle of orchard apple tree escargot . pop out in a curious shade of Pepto - Bismol garden pink , they are jam full of a neurotoxin that ’s thought to be singular to these brute , and warn enough that no predators other thanred firing antsdare eat them . telling , but unfortunately , as adults , these snail can be unwanted number one .
That ’s certainly the case in Texas , whereParks and Wildlifehas urged that all species of the apple escargot genusPomacea(except forPomacea bridgesii , the spiketop apple escargot ) are prohibited . They are a threat to the surround , hump to eataquatic plantsand attack sure crops , and as a upshot , can also outcompete native snail .
orchard apple tree snails are a popular aquarium species , which is all fun and games until somebody settle to let their PET slack in the nearest pool . This kind of acquittance is how a circle ofinvasive speciesstart out , but they can also spread naturally by either go in piddle or suckered ontoother animals .
Yes, we know they look strawberry flavored, but they are in fact juicy with an impressive neurotoxin.Image credit: 4moon, Shutterstock.com
Apple escargot can quickly become very successful because they are n’t bad-tempered eaters and eat a lot . They also lay very bizarre ballock that almost nothing can corrode , thanks to a neurolysin called perivitellin-2 , or PV2 .
It ’s the solvent of two immune proteins being smushed together to create a neurolysin that targets the catgut , making it similar to toxin seen in works and bacterium . Itsdiscoverymarked the first sentence a toxin that work on like this had been find in animals , and mice studies bring out it can break through cell layers and kill tissue , affecting nutritive preoccupation .
Curiously , red firing antscan munch on these destructive Berry no job , but they come to fear in the sum of wildlife officials for a different understanding . That ’s because each tiny eyeball has the potential to become an invasive eating motorcar that can harbor a life-threatening , and potentially lethal , sponger .
Apple escargot can be an medium host for the rat lungworm parasite , Angiostrongylus cantonensis . This nematode can infect mammalian , including humans , and while most the great unwashed recover , it can cause eosinophilic meningitis , which in uncommon cases essay fateful .
So , the advice ? you’re able to cover sighting to theTexas Invasive Species Institute , who say that citizen are let to remove pinkish testicle masses . “ This is done by argufy off the egg masses to allow them to fall into the water since inundated egg will not hatch , ” they say . “ However , only pink egg masses should be scraped or remove . TPWD also recommends you destroy the egg masses before submerge them in the water , to ensure none survive . This can be done by stepping on the egg peck . ”
Do n’t be fooled by those juicy pink balls , a forbidden yield you ’d do well to steer clear of .
